GIC Re (General Insurance Corporation of India)

What is GIC Re?

GIC Re, formally the General Insurance Corporation of India, is the Government of India-owned reinsurance company and the largest reinsurer in the Indian market. It reinsures the risks written by India's general, health and life insurers, receives the statutory obligatory cession on every general insurance policy, and also writes reinsurance business from other countries. It is registered with IRDAI as reinsurer number 112, is listed on the BSE and NSE, and is headquartered at Suraksha, Churchgate, Mumbai.

History of GIC Re

GIC was created after general insurance was nationalised under the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972. It was incorporated on 22 November 1972 and became the holding company of the four public sector general insurers: National, New India, Oriental and United India.

How GIC Re works in India

• Obligatory cession. Under Section 101A of the Insurance Act, 1938, IRDAI fixes a percentage of each general insurance policy that insurers must reinsure with Indian reinsurers. For 2026-27 it is 4% of the sum insured, and the entire cession must go to GIC Re, with terrorism and nuclear pool premiums excluded.
• First call on business. Under the IRDAI (Re-insurance) Regulations, 2018, Indian reinsurers sit first in the order of preference, so cedants must seek terms from them before FRBs and overseas reinsurers. GIC Re leads many domestic treaty and facultative programmes.
• Pools. GIC Re manages the Indian Market Terrorism Risk Insurance Pool and the India Nuclear Insurance Pool, and arranges reinsurance protection for them.
• Agriculture and health. Its portfolio includes a large health book and agriculture reinsurance, which in India comes largely from crop insurance under PMFBY.
• International business. GIC Re has branches and subsidiaries abroad, including a London branch, a Labuan (Malaysia) office, subsidiaries in South Africa and Russia, a Lloyd's corporate member, and an IFSC insurance office in GIFT City.

Key numbers for 2025-26

Source: GIC Re's results announcement of 26 May 2026. GIC Re's website shows an AM Best financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) with a stable outlook.

GIC Re and the changing market

For two decades GIC Re was effectively the only Indian reinsurer, competing with foreign reinsurance branches that IRDAI began licensing in 2016 and with cross-border reinsurers. That is changing. As of October 2026, IRDAI's list of reinsurers includes Valueattics Reinsurance and Allianz Jio Reinsurance alongside GIC Re, and the 2025 insurance laws amendment cut the net owned fund requirement for foreign reinsurance branches to ₹1,000 crore. GIC Re keeps the obligatory cession, but more of the voluntary business is now contested.

What GIC Re means for distribution

• Capacity for big risks. GIC Re publishes its domestic underwriting capacity by class; for property it shows ₹4,000 crore any one risk on a probable maximum loss basis. When brokers place large industrial and infrastructure risks, GIC Re's appetite and pricing often set the lead terms.
• Pricing signals. GIC Re's renewal terms for property, motor, health and crop treaties feed through to what insurers charge. A hard reinsurance renewal in April usually shows up in commercial quotes soon after.
• Crop insurance. Crop insurance relies heavily on reinsurance, and GIC Re is a significant domestic reinsurer of it, so its view on rates feeds into the pricing insurers bid for PMFBY clusters.
• Health and motor experience. GIC Re's 2025-26 results show its health and motor portfolios running at combined ratios above 100%. Losses on these lines at the reinsurance level tend to lead to tighter terms for insurers, and in turn to firmer pricing and underwriting at the front line.